Observers from various factions across Center City saw the transformation in Long Xiang. Some were deeply astonished; merely looking at him exuded an inhuman presence.
Yet most of the higher-ups appeared relatively calm. They understood that upon reaching the level of a martial artist, one could no longer be regarded as an ordinary human being.
Aboard the airship, the liaison looked at Long Xiang's appearance, swallowed hard, and stole a glance at Prabhakar. With the master's towering, elongated frame standing right there in plain view, it did not seem so unacceptable after all.
Chen Chuan cast a few glances ahead. He could sense that Long Xiang's increase was not merely in physical size; the radius of the field surrounding his body had expanded several folds as well, indicating a distinct boost in physical attributes.
Still, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Back when he fought Wei Guochan, his opponent had likewise manifested the visage of six arms. It was hard to say which of the two was stronger; as Yao Zhiyi had explained back then, his fierce, unyielding jin strongly countered Wei Guochan's technique-heavy approach, preventing Wei from displaying his true power.
Combat prowess was not determined solely by superficial strength, but relied on tactical strategy and performance under battle conditions. Yet one factor could not be overlooked...
As he fixed his gaze on his opponent, Long Xiang suddenly clenched his fist, and a burst of blue light flashed across it with a whoosh. In the next instant, that light had already crossed hundreds of meters, bursting right before him.
With a boom, Chen Chuan remained standing where he was. With a casual swat, he dispersed the highly concentrated spiritual flame, immediately followed by the sight of Long Xiang's massive body rapidly expanding in his field of vision.
His eyes locked onto the blue flame as he kicked out. This time, Long Xiang was prepared for his speed and raised a fist to meet it. In an instant, the sole of Chen Chuan's foot collided with Long Xiang's fist, the flickering flames of light around their bodies seeming to meld together.
Long Xiang's expression contorted viciously as he tried to unleash every ounce of strength in his body to push his opponent back. Yet as the momentum he carried dissipated, he still failed to achieve this. Instead, as his own jin waned, an uncontrollable force surged in from the opposite side, sending him flying backward once again against his will.
After kicking him away, Chen Chuan spread his hands outward, his body leaning forward slowly.
Real combat indeed depended on performance in the moment, but that held true only when both combatants were close in strength and speed. When the disparity was stark, however, none of that mattered.
As his body formed an acute angle with the ground, the kicking leg snapped down with a smack. Harnessing that momentum, he darted out in a flash, arriving almost instantly behind Long Xiang while the latter was still airborne, and his fist smashed forward mercilessly once more.
Long Xiang could only strain to twist his body to dodge the strike, yet Chen Chuan did not miss. Making an adjustment midair, his punch landed solidly against Long Xiang's waist and abdomen. As two dazzling bursts of light exploded, the man's body folded in half and flew backward.
Chen Chuan's feet touched the ground, and with another stomp that cracked the earth into a ring of fissures, he sped forward again, arriving above Long Xiang to bring down another hammer-like punch!
When Long Xiang was struck by the second punch, the blue spiritual flames on his body had nearly scattered. As that third punch came crashing down, the light shattered completely. Then a deafening boom erupted below as countless chunks of earth and clouds of dust blasted upward into the air; he had been driven straight into the ground by that very punch.
Chen Chuan landed on both feet with a soft thud. Looking down at the crater carved out below, he thought that the opponent manifesting the River God Flood Dragon Visage made only one difference to him: he could let loose and strike without having to hold back or worry too much.
Scattered dirt clods and broken stones tumbled outward before eventually coming to a rest, while pulverized dust hung thick in the air.
Long Xiang lay at the bottom of the crater, soil burying most of his body, his limbs wedged into the crater walls. One of his arms was twisted at an unnatural angle, and a caved-in depression spanned his ribs and abdomen, looking as if a chunk had been gouged out.
The crew aboard the airship high above used every method at their disposal to stabilize the local field, faithfully broadcasting everything through the field signal to the field screens across all factions.
Once the field signal stabilized, many among the spectators watching this scene were filled with shock and disbelief, while quite a few felt their scalps tingle with dread.
At the start, they had all believed this would be an evenly matched contest, or most likely that Chen Chuan would be at a disadvantage. After all, he had not broken the limit long ago, and he might not yet have mastered his power completely.
Yet none of them had anticipated that Long Xiang would be the one outmatched, falling into a disadvantage right from the start and practically being pummeled by Chen Chuan the entire time.
The liaison on the airship watched in extreme tension. Tugging at his sweat-soaked collar, he looked toward Prabhakar, drew a deep breath, and tentatively asked, "Master, has... has Supervisor Chen won?"
Prabhakar chuckled. "That depends on how far the two of them wish to take it. As things stand, neither has won, and neither has lost."
The liaison froze. After fighting to this extent, the victor was still not decided?
Prabhakar looked at Chen Chuan standing there. Seeing hardly any dust on him—practically unchanged from before the battle began—it was truly hard to say how much strength he had even used.
He remarked with admiration, "Supervisor Chen has indeed exceeded my expectations. I didn't expect his foundation to be so substantial. It seems his accumulation before breaking the limit was exceptionally solid."
The liaison understood only half of it, but at that moment, movement appeared on the screen, drawing his attention back.
There was movement from Long Xiang lying below. Beneath his skin, tough scales sprouted to cover the surface, while the tips of his fingers grew thick, sharp claws, widening into thick digits. His body seemed to expand another size larger than before, and all of his injuries appeared completely healed.
He rolled over and sat up. Though most of his protective suit was shredded, his sturdy torso was covered in armor-like scales, with mutated tissue twisting and knotting in certain areas, as if forming an ancient suit of armor.
When he rose to his feet, even standing in the crater, he was a great deal taller than Chen Chuan, reaching nearly six meters or more. The spiritual flame that had nearly scattered under the previous strikes expanded once more, noticeably more formidable than before. And in the gaze he directed at Chen Chuan, there was a savage ferocity that had not been there previously.
Chen Chuan calmly met his gaze.
After confronting each other for a moment, Long Xiang seemed prepared to strike again. But this time, before he could throw a punch, Chen Chuan vanished from his spot in a flash, leaping forward first to drive a fist straight at his face.
Long Xiang raised his arms in a frantic guard, yet that punch forced his own arms back into his skull. His biological field cracked and fractured outward with a snap, jerking his head back. Before he could recover, the second punch arrived, slamming with ferocious power into his chest and abdomen. The spiritual flames of both sides clashed violently, and the blue flame flickered wildly, nearly blown out like a flame in a gale.
He doubled over involuntarily, and at that moment Chen Chuan's third strike arrived—an upward-lifting palm from free-hand fighting, the heel of the palm driving straight into his chin, which was now virtually stripped of its protective flame. His massive body was struck so hard it was plucked straight out of the crater, tracing an arc through the sky before crashing heavily onto the distant ground.
Chen Chuan held his raised palm in place for a moment, then clenched his fist. Wisps of white vapor rose like steam from his arm and fist, while at the same time, the radiance of qi around his body seemed to surge upward.
"Haha, stop... hahaha... don't, don't hit me anymore... cough, cough... let's end it here..."
Lying there, Long Xiang waved his hands frantically at Chen Chuan to signal a halt. The fierce gleam in his eyes slowly faded, the scales and mutated tissue rapidly receding as he returned to his initial normal state, though what remained of his tattered clothes hung loosely on him.
Seeing this, Chen Chuan refrained from striking again. The white vapor on his body gradually subsided, leaving only a faint shimmer enveloping him.
After catching his breath and waiting for his newly inflicted injuries to mend, Long Xiang propped himself up into a sitting position. Patting his head and giving another chuckle, he said, "I originally intended just to spar a few rounds after revealing the Visage, but who knew I'd get carried away as we fought..."
Manifesting the Visage certainly enhanced one's physical capabilities, but the emotions it induced were difficult to control. As his body improved, his spirit was heightened alongside it, drawing closer to the temperament of the Flood Dragon God he cultivated—a drawback of sorts, and the unavoidable price for obtaining power.
Yet he had never expected that even so, he still wouldn't be a match for Chen Chuan. While it was astonishing, it also made him grateful for his prior prudent decision.
Standing up, a trace of wariness crept into his gaze toward Chen Chuan. If he had previously viewed Chen Chuan with the slight mindset of a senior, he had now thoroughly cast that reservation aside.
He was well aware that had this been a true life-and-death struggle, Chen Chuan would have had the chance to kill him.
Although he had not unleashed his full power and still held back certain secret arts of the Refinement School, who was to say Chen Chuan had given his all either? Moreover, as a member of the Purist Faction, Chen Chuan was hardly lacking in formidable secret arts.
He said earnestly, "Supervisor Chen, I believe anyone watching this battle can see the outcome. I will urge the Municipal Council to fulfill their promise."
Chen Chuan adjusted the brim of his hat and gave a slight nod. "Mr. Long, there were spectators today, so perhaps you couldn't cut loose. When you have time, we can spar again." With that, he turned and walked away.
Long Xiang twisted his body, which produced cracking sounds from within, causing his face to twitch involuntarily. Looking at Chen Chuan's departing back, he shook his head. This assignment had truly been an ordeal, nearly costing him his life. No matter what, he would have to demand an extra stipend from his school once he got back.
Chapter 787